List of Top Open Source Program List
Open source contribution is one of the best ways to grow as a developer, build a strong portfolio, learn from real world projects, and collaborate with a global community. Whether you are a student, early career professional, or someone looking to switch into tech, contributing to open source can accelerate your learning and create new opportunities.
This complete guide will walk you through everything you need to know about how to get started with open source contribution in a practical and human friendly way.
What is Open Source
Open source refers to software whose source code is publicly available and can be viewed, modified, and distributed by anyone. Open source projects are typically maintained by communities of developers who collaborate to improve the software.
Popular examples include Linux, React, Kubernetes, TensorFlow, VS Code, and thousands of community driven tools on GitHub and GitLab.
Why You Should Contribute to Open Source
- Improve your coding and problem solving skills
- Gain real world development experience
- Build a strong public portfolio on GitHub
- Learn collaboration tools like Git, GitHub, and code reviews
- Network with global developers and maintainers
- Increase chances of getting hired by top companies
Prerequisites Before You Start
You do not need to be an expert to contribute but having these basics will help.
- Basic knowledge of any programming language
- Understanding of Git and GitHub
- Familiarity with terminal or command line
- Willingness to learn and explore documentation
Step by Step Guide to Start Open Source Contribution
Step 1 Choose Your Area of Interest
Pick a domain that matches your skills or curiosity such as
- Web Development
- AI and Machine Learning
- Data Science
- DevOps
- Mobile Development
- UI and UX
- Documentation and Technical Writing
Choosing the right area makes your journey enjoyable and sustainable.
Step 2 Create and Optimize Your GitHub Profile
Your GitHub profile is your open source identity. Make sure to
- Add a professional profile picture
- Write a clear bio
- Pin your best repositories
- Add a detailed README to your profile
This builds credibility when maintainers review your contributions.
Step 3 Learn Git and GitHub Basics
Important concepts to understand
- Forking a repository
- Cloning a project
- Creating branches
- Committing changes
- Creating pull requests
- Resolving merge conflicts
Spend time practicing these using small projects.
Step 4 Find Beginner Friendly Open Source Projects
Search for projects that welcome beginners. Look for labels like
- good first issue
- beginner friendly
- help wanted
- documentation
Platforms to discover projects
- GitHub Explore
- First Timers Only
- Up For Grabs
- Good First Issue
- CodeTriage
Step 5 Understand the Project
Before making any change
- Read the README file carefully
- Study the contribution guidelines
- Check existing issues and discussions
- Run the project locally if possible
This helps you avoid mistakes and follow project standards.
Step 6 Start with Small Contributions
As a beginner, focus on simple tasks such as
- Fixing typos
- Improving documentation
- Updating broken links
- Enhancing comments
- Minor bug fixes
These small steps build your confidence and trust within the community.
Step 7 Make Your First Pull Request
Process overview
- Fork the repository
- Clone it to your system
- Create a new branch
- Make your changes
- Commit with a clear message
- Push changes
- Create a pull request
Always be polite and open to feedback from maintainers.
Best Open Source Contribution Programs
Participating in structured open source programs gives you mentorship, direction, and in many cases stipends or paid opportunities. Below is a curated list of well known and genuine open source programs that are global and India friendly.
| Name | Official Website or Repository Link | Short description | Eligibility criteria or who can apply or contribute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Summer of Code | https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/ | Mentored open source development program run by Google. | Students and early career developers worldwide. |
| Outreachy | https://www.outreachy.org/ | Paid remote internships for open source contributions. | People from underrepresented groups in tech. |
| Hacktoberfest | https://hacktoberfest.com/ | Annual event encouraging open source contributions in October. | Anyone with a GitHub account. |
| LFX Mentorship | https://lfx.linuxfoundation.org/tools/mentorship/ | Mentorship programs under the Linux Foundation umbrella. | Students and professionals depending on project. |
| Rails Girls Summer of Code | https://railsgirlssummerofcode.org/ | Fellowship supporting women and non binary contributors in open source. | Women and non binary developers. |
| MLH Fellowship | https://fellowship.mlh.io/ | Remote fellowship for contributing to open source projects. | Students and recent graduates. |
| Season of KDE | https://season.kde.org/ | KDE community program for students contributing to KDE projects. | Students worldwide. |
| Free Software Foundation Internship | https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships | Internships supporting free software initiatives. | Students and free software enthusiasts. |
| Apache Software Foundation Programs | https://community.apache.org/contributors/ | Multiple programs supporting contributors to Apache projects. | Anyone interested in Apache projects. |
| Hyperledger Mentorship Program | https://wiki.hyperledger.org/display/INTERN/ | Mentorship for blockchain related open source projects. | Developers interested in blockchain. |
| Julia Seasons of Contributions | https://julialang.org/jsoc/ | Summer program for contributing to Julia language projects. | Students worldwide. |
| Summer of Haskell | https://summer.haskell.org/ | Program supporting contributors to Haskell ecosystem. | Students and Haskell learners. |
| Open Mainframe Project Mentorship | URL | Mentorship focused on mainframe open source projects. | Students and early career developers. |
| Fedora Mentored Projects | URL | Mentored tasks and projects within Fedora. | Anyone interested in Fedora. |
| Red Hat Open Source Internship | https://research.redhat.com/internships/ | Internship program contributing to open source projects. | Students and graduates. |
| Open Source Promotion Plan | https://summer-ospp.ac.cn/ | Chinese open source summer program with global participation. | Students worldwide. |
| Alibaba Summer of Code | https://opensource.alibaba.com/ | Open source contribution program by Alibaba. | Students and developers. |
| Python Software Foundation Grants | https://www.python.org/psf/grants/ | Funding support for Python related open source work. | Open source maintainers and organizers. |
| OpenStack Mentorship | https://www.openstack.org/ | Mentorship for contributors to OpenStack. | New contributors. |
| FOSSASIA Internship | https://fossasia.org/internship/ | Internship program supporting open technology projects. | Students and open source contributors. |
| FOSSASIA Codeheat | https://codeheat.org/ | Coding contest for open source contributions. | Developers worldwide. |
| Drupal Contribution Programs | https://www.drupal.org/community/contributor-guide | Structured contribution opportunities in Drupal. | Anyone interested in Drupal. |
| WordPress Contribution | https://make.wordpress.org/ | Community driven contributions to WordPress. | Anyone worldwide. |
| Joomla Google Summer of Code | https://community.joomla.org/gsoc.html | Joomla participation in GSoC. | Students eligible for GSoC. |
| Debian LTS Contributions | https://wiki.debian.org/LTS | Long term support contributions for Debian. | Experienced Debian developers. |
| ROS Mentorship | https://www.ros.org/ | Mentorship and contribution opportunities in ROS ecosystem. | Developers and researchers. |
| Open Bioinformatics Foundation Programs | https://www.open-bio.org/ | Community programs supporting bioinformatics tools. | Researchers and developers. |
| NumFOCUS Small Development Grants | URL | Grants for scientific computing open source projects. | Open source maintainers. |
| GitHub Open Source Guides | https://opensource.guide/ | Guides and programs encouraging open source contribution. | Anyone interested in open source. |
| Google Code-in Archive | https://codein.withgoogle.com/archive/ | Pre-university open source contest archive. | Students aged 13 to 17 historically. |
| Scilab Internship | https://www.scilab.org | Open source numerical computing internship opportunities. | Students. |
| LibreOffice Mentorship | https://www.libreoffice.org/community/ | Mentorship and contribution programs for LibreOffice. | New contributors. |
| Eclipse Foundation Programs | https://www.eclipse.org/community/ | Open source contribution programs under Eclipse. | Developers worldwide. |
| Open Data Kit Fellowship | https://opendatakit.org | Open source tools for data collection. | Developers and researchers. |
| Public Lab Open Call | https://publiclab.org | Community science and open source environmental tools. | Anyone worldwide. |
| Rocket.Chat Open Source | URL | Community driven chat platform. | Anyone worldwide. |
| Mattermost Open Source | https://developers.mattermost.com/ | Open source collaboration platform. | Developers. |
| Nextcloud Contribution | https://nextcloud.com/contribute/ | Self hosted cloud collaboration platform. | Developers and designers. |
| Open Source Design | https://opensourcedesign.net/ | Design focused open source contribution platform. | Designers and developers. |
| SAP Open Source Programs | https://opensource.sap.com/ | Open source contribution initiatives by SAP. | Developers and contributors. |
| IBM Open Source Community | https://developer.ibm.com/open-source/ | Open source collaboration and mentorship. | Developers and students. |
| Microsoft Open Source Programs | https://opensource.microsoft.com/ | Open source initiatives and contribution guides. | Developers worldwide. |
| Red Hat Community Projects | https://www.redhat.com/en/about/open-source | Open source communities supported by Red Hat. | Developers and contributors. |
| Canonical Open Source | https://ubuntu.com/community | Ubuntu and Canonical open source contributions. | Anyone worldwide. |
| Open Source Ecology | https://www.opensourceecology.org/ | Open hardware and sustainable tech projects. | Anyone worldwide. |
| Processing Foundation Fellowship | https://processingfoundation.org/fellowships | Fellowship supporting creative open source tools. | Artists and developers. |
| Blender Open Source | https://www.blender.org/get-involved/ | Open source 3D creation suite contribution programs. | Developers and artists. |
| GIMP Contribution | https://www.gimp.org/develop/ | Open source image editing software. | Developers and designers. |
| Inkscape Contribution | https://inkscape.org/develop/ | Open source vector graphics editor. | Developers and designers. |
| Open Source Hardware Association Programs | https://www.oshwa.org | Support programs for open hardware projects. | Hardware enthusiasts. |
| Open Knowledge Foundation Programs | https://okfn.org | Open data and knowledge initiatives. | Researchers and developers. |
| Open Library Contribution | https://openlibrary.org/developers | Open source digital library project. | Developers and librarians. |
| Internet Archive Open Source | https://archive.org/about/opensource.php | Open source projects supporting digital preservation. | Developers worldwide. |
| Signal Open Source | https://github.com/signalapp | Secure messaging open source projects. | Developers and security researchers. |
| Matrix.org Programs | https://matrix.org | Open standard for secure communication. | Developers worldwide. |
| Open Collective Open Source | https://opencollective.com/opensource | Funding and contribution platform for open source. | Open source communities. |
Essential Resources for Open Source Beginners
Learning Platforms
Communities
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not reading contribution guidelines
- Making large changes without discussion
- Ignoring code style rules
- Spamming pull requests
- Lack of communication with maintainers
How to Stay Consistent in Open Source
- Set weekly contribution goals
- Follow projects you like
- Engage in discussions
- Participate in community events
- Track your progress
Consistency matters more than perfection.
Real Benefits You Will See Over Time
- Improved coding confidence
- Strong developer network
- Better understanding of large codebases
- Increased job opportunities
- Recognition in the tech community
At Last
Getting started with open source contribution might feel intimidating at first, but every expert was once a beginner. Start small, stay curious, respect the community, and keep learning continuously.
Your first contribution could be a simple documentation fix, but it is the beginning of a powerful journey that can shape your entire tech career.
If you are serious about growing as a developer, open source is one of the most valuable paths you can take.
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Lets Code
Contributing Writer